My Take: The 21-Day Sugar Detox by Diane Sanfilippo

I know what you're thinking - a book for a sugar detox?  How hard can it be? You just stop eating sugar, white knuckle your way through any or all cravings, and then, voila, no more sugar cravings, right?

If only it were that simple.

Enter "The 21-Day Sugar Detox", written by the New York Times bestselling author of "Practical Paleo", Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites, and the Balanced Bites podcast.

This book gives you everything you need to successfully complete your sugar detox.  The book, releasing on October 29th, is set up in three sections and can be preordered here -->http://amzn.to/WcpmGE

Section One: Program Basics

The first section includes many parts, but my personal favorites are: Explanation in detail whether or not a sugar detox is right for you, an AH-MAZING preparation checklist and What to Expect during the detox, and a guide to dining out and fats & oils - helping you to stay social while on the program.

Green Apple Breakfast Sausage (p.94) 

Section Two: Levels & Meal Plans

Next comes the practical part of the program - levels and meal plans.  It really helps you personalize the program to meet your current nutritional needs - and there are modifications for athletes, pregnant/nursing mothers, those with an autoimmune condition and pescatarians.  This section starts of with a very short quiz to help determine what level of the program you should follow. I found it especially helpful when completing my first sugar detox.  Included are sample meal plans and yes/no foods lists tailored to every level.

Shepherd's Pie (p. 134)

Section Three: Easy Recipes

Finally we get to the meat of the book - total pun intended!  I've made several of the recipes included in this book and was not surprised at how filling and fabulous tasting they all were.  I've included some pictures throughout, as well as the trailer for the book.  Keep in mind, I'm not a photographer, but honestly, you just have to try them to find out how outstanding these recipes are!  I know that people always say that they never felt deprived while eating detox recipes, but I truly felt that way with each and every dish in this book.  

(Bonus: There is an accompanying cookbook coming out in December, find out more here -->http://amzn.to/WmUpjc)

Hot & Sweet Ginger-Garlic Chicken (p. 116)

There is a lot to love about this book - especially it's handy size - it fits in my purse, y'all!  More importantly, you can feel the love and care that went into both the program and the book. I highly recommend it for anyone seeking to break free from sugar and the chains it can have on your health.

Let's listen to Diane herself tell you why you should purchase the 21-Day Sugar Detox.

*Disclaimer - I received an advance copy of "The 21 Day Sugar Detox" to review. This is no way biases my opinion towards the book or program, as I already completed this program prior to the book's inception. But, for legal reasons, I must include this blurb so you are aware. Here you go and you're welcome :-)

First Impression: Panera Power Breakfast Egg Bowl with Steak

I first heard about the "hidden menu" at Panera Bread a few months ago when its announcement arrived in my Inbox.  This was before I started my Paleo journey, so my initial thoughts were, "Nice, but not for me."

If you don't have a Panera Bread in your area, they are essentially a bakery/cafe known for fresh baked artisan breads. They have bagels, muffins and baked treats for breakfast and sandwiches, salad and soups for lunch. If you live in the St Louis area, it's known as St Louis Bread Co.

When I started my Paleo journey, it was very difficult, if not impossible, to eat out.  The other morning I found myself out of time to make a proper breakfast and remembered this 'hidden menu' and decided to give it a try.  I called the Panera closest to my work to make sure they even still offered the Power Bowls. I think I confused the guy who answered the phone when I asked for the "Hidden Menu Bowls".  But we figured it out and he said that they did have them.

I chose the Egg Bowl with Steak and black coffee.  I got it to go since I was on my way to work. When my order was ready, the clerk asked me if I wanted chips or bread - I politely declined. Here's what I saw when I first took the bowl out of the bag:

Time to dig in!  I don't know if you can tell from the photos, but the first most prominent flavor was PEPPER.  Now, I love seasonings, but they went a bit over the top here.  I won't deduct points for it because its simply a preference. However, if you're like me, you probably won't like it.  The bowl contains 2 over hard eggs, 1/2 an avocado, 3 tomatoes and 4-5 oz steak cut into strips.

The portion size was perfect and helped to balance the heaviness of the bowl.  The tomatoes would make this a no-go if you're nightshade-free, but I suppose you could always ask for it without tomatoes.  Overall, I liked it-but I wish it would've had some greens/salad included to make it a bit more balanced. Seemed just a bit too heavy on protein for me.

That's really all I have to say about that for now. Do you have any interest in the Power lunch bowls?  Let me know in the comments and I'd be happy to try those out as well.  Hope you're having a wonderful weekend :-)

Teens and Paleo

I'm going to tread lightly here and just share what I'm going through today.  My youngest child, my son, is dealing with similar symptoms to mine and I want to transition him to a Paleo diet.  My husband agrees - sort of.

He recognizes that my son has health challenges,but thinks that I'm being unreasonable in presenting my son with a 2 week Paleo challenge.  He thinks that I should, instead, give him healthier options (what kinds of options he didn't elaborate on).  My son is currently dairy free, but really loves his carbs.  Just yesterday, he ate two donuts for breakfast (store bought), and then Wheat Thins, cheese and ranch dressing for lunch.  The only paleo meal he had was dinner - and the only meal that didn't give him terrible stomach pain :(

My husband doesn't eat Paleo, except for dinner and occasionally lunch, and probably never will. I've never expected him to eat the way I do, but I really wish he could see that the benefits could outweigh the costs.

Do any of you deal with non-Paleo spouses and trying to get your kids/teens to eat in a more healthy way?

I feel a little bit like Morton Downey Jr...

I used to occasionally hear about someone dying of cancer or suffering from some sort of digestive ailment.  Then, I would hear about one a month, earlier this year, one or two a week. Now the average is one or two a DAY, that is not a typo.  I went to the hospital yesterday to visit my best friend's husband whose kidneys shut down.  Earlier that week, that same friends grandson was hospitalized because he wasn't eating or able to digest his food.  Her husband is in his late 50s; the baby is 4 1/2 months old.  Then there is my step dad's best friend, who is dying of liver cancer. My grandnephew who is also not eating because of reflux (he's 13 months old) and might have autism. Not to mention my uncle, who passed a few months ago from colon cancer.

In this non-medically trained person's opinion, they're all tied together by a common thread - they're all related to digestion and possibly their diet.  I realize that for those of you of a more scientific bent, this "evidence" is anecdotal. I'm okay with anecdotal evidence because I'm seeing it increase to the point where it can no longer be ignored.  Even today, the medical community has labeled obesity a "disease".  Where I become like Morton Downey Jr  (or was it Susan Powter) is to look at you through the lens of this blog and scream at the top of my lungs....."STOP THE MADNESS!"

I came across this article this morning that essentially states that common medications, such as Amox-Clav, are killing our liver. There is also this article that shows the growing instance of digestive disorders in the United States. The data only goes to 2004, so I'm working on getting more current information.  Although, it begs the question, if it was this bad nine years ago, how much worse is it now? I also found this article, which lists the top 10 causes of death in the US last year.  In my estimation, 5 of them are directly related to lifestyle.  Some might argue that all of them are. 

Below is a chart taken from that article.

                        

What madness do I want to stop?  All of the destruction being caused by the Standard American Diet (SAD) and by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply. And no, I don't want another law forcing companies to comply to food labeling.  The government's been in charge of our food safety long enough - they're unable and unwilling to do it properly. It's up to us, us and our pocketbooks.

The cool thing is - companies are starting (and it's only one company that I know of) to listen.  Chipotle quietly announced earlier this year that is in labeling GMO ingredients on its menu online.  You can read the entire story here. It's a great start, but it'll be even better if/when they eliminate GMO ingredients altogether.  At least in my area, Chipotle is widely popular. So popular that if more people start demanding that their restaurants label GMOs - how long might it be before food companies that sell their products in grocery stores voluntarily label them as well?

But before all of that can happen, we need to educate ourselves. Step away from the food pyramid - it's killing us.  I know that's an inflammatory statement, but the more research I do on the subject, the more I realize it's true.  Our health is in our hands, and we need to stop relying on government programs (that are usually bought and paid for by the food industry) to tell us what's healthy.  This same government convinced our parents and grandparents that smoking was also healthy.  Think about it.

I have tons of resources and book recommendations I could give, and I'm happy to if you'll leave a comment below.  But I'd rather you started looking at this for yourself.  Start by making sure you're eating in a way that keeps your digestive system healthy so it can absorb the vitamins and minerals it needs.  Don't know where to start or are too overwhelmed to know what the first step is?  I would recommend visiting www.robbwolf.com, reading the book, "Nourishing Traditions" or subscribing to Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner menus at www.savingdinner.com.

It's a lot to take in and I hope I'm not scaring anyone off.  I'm really passionate about this issue and wanted to share what I know in hopes that you'll become passionate about it as well.

I've Got "Friends" in Low Places

I'm officially done with the 30 Day Paleo Challenge, but decided to not only continue it, but also incorporate the Autoimmune Protocol from the book, Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo. This would mean removing foods known as nightshades.  What are nightshades and why would I need to remove them? Great question!

According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, "nightshades are members of an enormous family of plants called Solanaceae, represent a huge family of plants. The ones that concern us in the Western diet mainly include tomatoes, potatoes (not sweet potatoes or yams), eggplant and peppers—this means all peppers including chili peppers, habanero  cayenne pepper and paprika (not peppercorns, see sidebar). Paprika is a sneaky one, showing up in lots of flavoring mixes and often under “spices” on ingredient labels. Other nightshades include goji berries (the new darling of the antioxidant crowd), ashwagandha (an adaptogenic herb from Ayurvedic medicine), Cape gooseberries (not normal gooseberries), ground cherries and garden huckleberries (not blueberries)."

I am choosing to eliminate nightshades for the next week because I have a condition called "keratosis pilaris", commonly known as chicken skin.  From everything I've read, it's best to eliminate nightshades for a week to see if this clears up your skin instead of topical medications.  I'm sure there's nothing wrong with topical medications, but if there's a way to reduce or eliminate skin irritations naturally, I'd much rather do that.  It keeps me in control of "dosing" and reduces any side effects of topical medications.

I've been testing foods here and there, doing pretty well to not go overboard and gorge myself on foods that I had an unnatural attachment to - that is, until this weekend.  I had two parties to go to, and both included cake.  Not homemade, Paleo/Primal cake, but fancy, boutique style all out bad for me cake.  One was chocolate with raspberry filling, the other chocolate with whipped vanilla icing.  Package that temptation with family and life stresses and lack of pre planning - disaster was imminent. I thought to myself, I'll just have one piece.  I should've known better.  Like I've heard other people say, I felt great the day of - but miserable for the next two days. I was bloated, sick to my stomach and my mood was off the charts wacky.   All of my anxiety and depression symptoms came back with a vengeance.  I read this great article from Psychology Today that talks about the effects sugar can and does have, not only on our body, but our brain as well.  Fascinating insights and well worth the read. Especially if you suspect you and sugar are a bit too friendly.

So, here I am tweaking my diet - again. I believe that my gut is sensitive enough that I'll be adjusting as needed for quite some time.  I've heard that some people need to be on an AIP (autoimmune protocol) for several months before the gut heals well enough to reintroduce problem foods. It's really okay, but I've got to stop feeling deprived and feeling sorry for myself. I'll never gain any progress if I can't get out of my own head.  

And THAT, seems to be the biggest obstacle I'm facing when it comes to gaining victory over stress and food intolerances.